The festival, in its 20th year, brings together a roster of more than 50 shows each day, including historical reenactments, parades and artisans demonstrating skills such as blacksmithing, stone carving and toy making.

The Knights of Mayhem will make their Las Vegas debut in a full-contact, professional jousting contest.

Jousting is a passion the participants turn into a competitive sport. They don 130 pounds of steel armor before charging at one another atop their steeds, carrying lances made of solid hemlock. The eye slots in their helmets are 1/4 -inch wide.

A Civil War-period coat worn by a nurse — a woman from a prominent Mathews County family who some believe was the only woman to be commissioned as a captain in the Confederate Army — is among the nominees for Virginia's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts program.

NAVAL STATION NORFOLK — The Navy on Saturday commissioned the USS John Warner, adding a 12th Virginia-class submarine to the fleet and celebrating the legacy of its namesake, the retired senator who was hailed as a statesman.